19.02.2026 –, Raum 6 (GW2 B2880)
Croatian primary school pupils with behavioral difficulties are learners with special educational needs. Despite a shift toward a social model of inclusion, teachers report limited preparation. Pupils with formally mandated Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), developed with school-based social pedagogues, are expected to receive more structured support; pupils without IEPs may be less systematically supported. We hypothesized that teachers would use more positive and fewer negative behavior management strategies (BMS) with pupils with IEPs than without. Homeroom teachers from 125 schools (n=1,026) rated positive and negative BMS toward 1,463 pupils (grades 1–8); 32.7% had an IEP. A validated ordinal scale was used and groups were compared with ANOVA. No group differences were found in either positive or negative BMS. Positive BMS were moderate, whereas negative BMS were low. Results may indicate equitable practice or an overall need to strengthen positive BMS.
Wie ist der inhaltliche Status Ihres Beitrags? –Präsentation empirischer Projektergebnisse (zum Tagungszeitpunkt vorr. im Abschluss befindliche Forschung)
Literatur –Acknowledgement
The study was conducted under full auspices of the University of Rijeka as part of a project, grant number uniri-iskusni-drustv 23-46 2989 “Social and educational inclusion in schools and preschools: preliminary investigations”
Literature:
Beaudoin, K., Lončarić, D., & Skočić Mihić, S. (2014, April 10–12). Are teachers adequately prepared to manage difficult behavior in Croatian classrooms? Teacher preparation, strategy use and needed supports. In Teacher Education Policy in Europe Network (TEPE) 2014 Conference: Overcoming fragmentation in teacher education policy and practice: Book of abstracts (p. [broj stranice ako je poznat]). Teacher Education Policy in Europe Network.
Martin, A. J., Linfoot, K., & Stephenson, J. (1999). How teachers respond to concerns about misbehavior in their classroom. Psychology in the Schools, 36(4), 347–358. https://doi.org/10.1002/
McLeskey, J., Barringer, M.-D., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M., Jackson, D., Kennedy, M., Lewis, T., Maheady, L., Rodriguez, J., Scheeler, M. C., Winn, J., & Ziegler, D. (2017). High-leverage practices in special education. Council for Exceptional Children & CEEDAR Center. https://highleveragepractices.org/
Nataša Vlah (Rijeka, Croatia) studied at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zagreb (1991–2010), completing her professional training in special education and earning a PhD in the specialized field of preventing behavioral problems in children and youth. She worked as a practitioner in the social and education sectors (1997–2012) before joining the Faculty of Teacher Education at the University of Rijeka, where she currently holds the position of Full Professor. Her research focuses on the social and educational inclusion of students with ADHD and behavioral difficulties, as well as the design and evaluation of prevention programmes that support socio-emotional development and mental health in early childhood education and primary schools.
Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Education Tacoma